for good to men, their power over their subjects is of a LORDLY nature. They are lordly fathers, who, by making and enforcing civil laws, can compel the difobedient.In this view, if they establish any thing pertaining to the Church, they establish it as a mean of honouring God their Superior, in the advancement of the welfare of the Commonwealth. If they punish faults, they confider them as crimes, injurious to the happiness of the State, difhonouring God its fupreme Governor, and provoking his wrath against it, and they punish thofe crimes only on the outward man, by fining, imprisonment, death, &c.But Church power is altogether MINISTERIAL, diftributing to men, reproofs, admonitions, and other ordinances, according to the infpired prescriptions of Chrift, Mat. xvi. 19. & xviii. 18. 1 Cor. iv. 1, 2. Chrift being her alone Lord, Church-rulers have no power to make any laws properly fo called, Ifa. xxxiii. 22. James iv. 12. In dealing with offenders, they confider faults, even oppreffion tyranny, finful wars and leauges, perverfion of judgment, bribery or the like in magiftrates, who are members, not as crimes but merely as fcandals, defiling and ruining men's fouls, plaguing the Church, and difhonouring and provoking Chrift and his Father in him, against it. They have no compulfory power,--can punifh no man either in his perfon or his external property, can ufe no weapons but fuch as are fpiritual, mighty through God; adminiftring Church cenfures, not as punishments, but as fpiritual privileges, and divinely inftituted means of bringing offenders to a thorough repentance of their fins, to the eternal falvation of their fouls.And this whole power must be used, only in the name of Jefus Chrift, as Head of his. Church, 2 Cor. i. 24. x. 4, 5, 8. xiii. 8, 10. ii. 610. 1 Cor. v. 4.

4. Civil and ecclefiaftical power differ in their PROPER END. The formal end of magiftratical power is to advance the glory of God, the King of nations, in promoting the welfare of the Commonwealth;and the establishment of the true religion, and care to promote the profperity and propagation of the Church, are ufed as eminent means of gaining that end. Or, the good of the Church may also be confidered as an acceffory end of civil adminiftration, as the better civil jufticebe executed, open out-breakings restrained, and virtue encouraged by the magistrate, the fewer will probably be the fcandals, and the greater the purity and profperity of the Church. Nay, though the advancement of the Church's welfare be not the formal end of magiftracy, yet as Chrift is made Head over all things to his Church, every magiftrate, who profeffeth the Chriftian religion, ought to purfue the formal end of his office, as fubordinated to his Chriftian end of promoting the glory of God in the welfare of the Church and eternal falvation of men.- -But the formal end-of all Church-power is the glorifying of God in Chrift, by promoting the fpiritual conviction, converfion and edification of men's fouls; and the welfare of nations is but an acceffory or fubordinate end, at which Church-rulers, as fubjects in the State, ought always to aim;as the better they profecute and obtain the end of their office, the fewer will be the crimes, the better both fubjects and magiftrates, and the more numerous and valuable the bleffings of God on the nation.

PROPER EFFECTS.

5. Civil and ecclefiaftical power differ in their The proper effect of magiftrat ical power, rightly exercifed, is the good of the Commonwealth, in their commodious enjoyment of civil privileges, in a manner mightily calculated to promote the honour of God, as the Moft High over

all the earth; and the purity, peace and profperity of the Church, arifing from the right adminiftration of justice, difcouragement of evil doers, and praise of them that do well, is but an acceffory effect.. Butthe proper effect of Church power rightly exercifed, is the converfion of men to Jefus Chrift, fellowship with him, and growth in grace and good works, to the praife of his glory; and the advantage accruing to cities or nations, by the virtuous lives and fervent prayers of Church members, is but an acceffory effect

of it.

6. Civil and ecclefiaftical power differ in their SUBJECTS of refidence. No ecclefiaftical power can refide in a heathen, a woman, or a child; and no power of jurifdiction in a single perfon; as civil power often may, or doth. Nor can one ecclefiaftic officer delegate his power to another.

7. They differ in their FORMAL CONSIDERATION

OF THE PERSONS UPON WHOM THEY ARE EXERCISED.

A magistrate's power extends over all powers refi dent in his territory, be their moral character what it will, Jews, Heathens, &c. Rom. xiii. 1. But Church-power extends only to the profeffed members of Chrift's myftical body, the Church, 1 Cor.

V. 12, 13.

8. Civil and ecclefiaftical power differ in refpect of their DIVIDED EXERCISE.. The one may, and ought to be exercifed, whether the other be so or not. The end of Church-cenfure being to gain finners to repentance and falvation fcandalous perfons appearing penitent, ought to be feasonably abfolved from it, and restored to communion with the Church in fealing ordinances. But the end of civil punishment being the fatisfaction of the law, and the deterring of others from the like faults, criminals, however penitent and fully reftored to Church-fellowship, may, as the nature of their crime demands, be pun

ished, even unto death. And fuppofe a Churchmember should have satisfied the demands of the civil law for a crime, he ought to be profecuted and cenfured for it as a scandal, by the ecclefiaftical courts, till he appear duly penitent. Not only ought Church-rulers to cenfure fcandalous perfons, when magiftrates take no notice of their faults, but even to cenfure magiftrates, who are Church-members, for what wickednefs they commit under colour of countenance from the civil law. And where magi. ftrates punish, and Church-rulers cenfure the fame perfons for the fame faults, the proceffes ought to be kept entirely distinct from, and independent of each other; though, to prevent unneceffary fwearing, the proof taken in one court may sometimes be produced and judged of, alfo in the other.

- OBJECT. XXII. "Magiftrates not being proper judges of the doctrines of Revelation, cannot be capable to judge concerning religious matters, and particularly to determine who are heretics, blafphemers, or idolaters."

ANSW. 1. That they have a right to judge in these matters hath been already established.

2. God, who knows all things, admits private Christians to be capable of judging what is herefy, blafphemy and idolatry, and who are heretics, blafphemers and idolaters, and hence commands them to keep themselves from these fins, and to avoid fuch feducers, and debar them from their houses, Rom. xvi. 17, 2 Tim. iii. 5. 1 Cor. v. 11. 1 John iv. 13. & v. 24. 2 John 9-11. Now what hinders Chriftian magiftrates to have as much good fenfe and as much capacity of judging in these matters, as common Christians.

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3. The grofs errors, blafphemies and idolatries which magiftrates ought to reftrain, and fuitably and feasonably punith, are so plainly condemned by the

word of God, which magistrates ought carefully to fearch, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, that any unbiafied perfon of common capacity may eafily

difcern them.

4. The advice of faithful ministers; and the common consent of Chriftian Churches, may affift magiftrates in difcerning from the word of God, what is grofs or damnable herefy, blafphemy, idolatry.

OBJECT. XXIII. "If magiftrates, as fuch, have a power of judging in religious matters, then Heathen magiftrates muft alfo be allowed to make laws concerning religion and the Church, while in the mean time they cannot be censured by the Church, if they do amifs."

ANSW. I. What could you gain, if I fhould plead, that it is magiftrates' Chriftianity requiring. them to execute their office in fubordination to it, that is the immediate origin of their power about the matters of religion, even as it is parents' Chriftianity that warrants them to receive baptifm for their infants? But

2. Heathen magiftrates, with God's direction and approbation, have made laws refpecting religion, Ezra vii. 13-28. vi. 1-14. i. 1-3. Dan. iii. 29. vi. 26. Jonah iii. Dare you condemn the Almighty? 3. Heathen magiftrates-have the fame power as Christian magiftrates, but are lefs capable to use it aright; even as heathen parents and mafters have the fame power over their children and fervants as Chriftians, but are lefs qualified to difcern and perform their duty.

4. Neither Heathen nor Christian magistrates have any power at all against the truth, but for the truth, any power for the deftruction of the Church, but for her edification, 2 Cor. xiii. 8, 10..

5. Heathen magiftrates therefore, ought carefully. to improve what affistance they have by the light of